Anomaly Warzone Earth HD tops iPad Games of the Week

Management textbooks teach us that sometimes problems can be solved by approaching them from the opposite direction. That’s the approach the developers of Anomaly Warzone Earth HD took to create this week’s top new iPad game, taking traditional turret defense game design and putting us in the role of navigating enemy emplacements on the ground. Do you have what it takes to chart the perfect course through a heavily fortified maze of alien turrets to take out the enemy without perishing?

Add in some more fresh “death from above” action that brings its own new “shock and awe” approach to taking out the zombie hordes, a brand new 3D action game with stunning graphics to boot, rounded-out by a music-focused, neon-inspired space shooter, and you’ve got yourself our iPad Games of the Week.

Forget about tower defense for a moment. Think tower offense. That’s the fresh approach 11 Bit Studios took in bringing Anomaly Warzone Earth HD to life. And brother, is this app a ton of fun. The Earth has been invaded, and our military is overwhelmed. It’s your job to survey the play field from overhead, plan your route through the alien’s turret emplacements, choose your vehicles, and let each level play out. Once your vehicles are in motion, you’ll need to watch for random drops of repair fields, which you can trigger in the path of your convoys to heal them as they progress. You’ll need to stay on your toes, plan the perfect path, and keep up the repairs, or it’s game over for you and the human race. You can change routes along the way, upgrade your units, move your forces over large sums of cash (with higher risk of death), and be quick to divert enemy fire to save your troops at the right times. It all adds up to frantic, anti-turret defense action that’s wholly original, and super-fun.

Continuing this week’s “death from above” theme, Zombie Gunship lets you rain death upon the undead from the comfort of an AC-130 assault aircraft. If you’ve played the latest military shooters on any console in the past few years, then you know what you’re in for here. Experience the hum of your aircraft and a grainy, black and white night vision view of the ground, with large white reticules to position on (or near) the enemy below. Pull the trigger to devastate your foes with all kinds of ordnance. Wait for the reload, keep circling, and keep firing. Be sure to take out the zombies, and not your friends and neighbors who are running to the bunkers. You’ll need to zoom in and out, get used to the flipped up and down controls, and keep even a single bad guy from reaching your home base. If you’re all about AC-130 action, and you’re a sucker for zombie games, this is your dream app, just in time for the end of your summer.

Fans of Super Mario Galaxy will feel right at home in this newcomer, swapping in Waka for Mario, and an invading horde of Wikus who must be slapped back into space. Each level takes place on a different kind of rotating, 3D planet, and you’ll need every one of your crazy arms to reach out and slap them into the vacuum from whence they came. The graphics are top-notch, the action pitch-perfect, and the level movies and animations console-quality. Moving Waka around is a snap, slapping even easier, and picking up power-ups a breeze. Hang in there until more difficult levels open up: it’s worth the wait. Initially easy, the difficulty ramps up super-slowly, making the app a perfect purchase for younger gamers out there. Burning up the rest of your summer vacation with Waka will be time well spent.

Fans of Rez HD and Children of Eden will feel right at home in this music-infused, vector-graphics “tunnel racing” game. Turn down the lights, strap on your headphones, and trip out, man. You’ll need to tilt your way through each level, picking up power-ups and point-filled shapes, while avoiding pillars and other traps. The longer you go without making a mistake, the higher your point multiplier. While the overall speed of each tunnel run is set for you, it’s your job to tilt your iPad this way and that to maximize your points. Half the fun is enjoying the soundtrack, which makes this dollar menu game a must-purchase. The only drawback? You have limited credits and can only progress so far before the game starts asking you for in-app purchases. Still, it’s a good opportunity to dive into a sizable chunk of musical goodness-powered gaming for just $1.